The tax man cometh to take our money for wars and destruction

It’s that time of the year again when we think about giving to Caesar what is his. Or is it really Caesar’s? What if he spends it all on war? The American Friends Service Committee says that 60 percent of our government’s discretionary spending goes into war making. That results in worldwide destruction of homes and the environment, genocide of peoples as in Iraq ,Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen and now into Africa.

Although estimates of the percentage of our federal tax dollars that go into war making vary depending on the data source used, the fact remains that the expenditures of the Department of Defense are not audited. And whether you agree or not about the (im)morality of our wars, you probably would not want to see your tax dollars wasted, squandered, mismanaged and stolen because of a war budget that completely ignores accountability. Especially since this weakens our own country’s ability to remain strong and free.

Our country is weakened when we spend so much for defense that we can’t take care of our own basic societal needs, housing, education, health care and infrastructure.

The permanent physical and moral injury to the recruits who are deceived by the U.S. military and trained to violate the dictates of their consciences is unconscionable. Our veterans come back maimed for life physically, spiritually and mentally. Note the hundreds of thousands of veterans who come home and can’t find jobs and become homeless.

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John Schuchart (himself both a veteran, defense lawyer and then a prisoner for two years) asks, “Why for decades have 25 percent of prisoners been veterans of war? I know where there are thousands of prisoners of war and missing in action: in the jails and prisons of America.”

Should we give Caesar our money when he uses it to destroy nations in morally irresponsible wars of aggression which hurt all of us and destroy our planet’s environment?

DANIEL RIEHL

Lititz

Takes name of patron saint

I was delighted to learn that the newly elected pope chose for himself the name of St. Francis of Assisi, generally known as patron saint of the animals. Indeed, Catholic and Anglican churches hold ceremonies blessing animals on his feast day of Oct. 4.

On one of his nature walks, Francis reportedly preached to the birds and is often portrayed with a bird in his hand. On another occasion, Francis concluded a pact with a ferocious wolf that was terrorizing local townsfolk, whereby the wolf would quit preying on the town’s sheep in exchange for being fed regularly. He even persuaded local dogs to stop harassing the wolf. He freed a rabbit from a trap, returned caught fish to their stream, and fed half-frozen bees in winter-time.

I hope that Pope Francis will inspire Catholics and all persons of goodwill to show nonhuman animals the respect and compassion they so richly deserve, particularly when it comes to subsidizing their abuse and slaughter for food at the checkout counter. Joining the meatless Mondays trend may be a good start.